Nicki St Vincent: Sweet Dreams
by irish-schmirish
Summary: Nicki St. Vincent comes back from the battle of Python to find that the Hunt is recruiting, but will the cruel whims of a minor god greedy for power end all her plans for any kind of future?
1. Chapter 1

I stuck my thumbs through the holes I had cut in the sleeves of my graffiti patterned sweatshirt. I brushed some left over monster dust off my jeans. My combat boots needed to be polished. I made a mental note to do that later. My dad walked into the kitchen. He looked at the suitcase at my feet and the backpack on the table next to me. I stood up. I knew he had seen this coming but had tried to avoid thinking about it. He started his coffee before turning to face me.

"Before you say anything," I said hurriedly, "I want you to know that this has nothing to do with Mariah. She seems really nice and I like her. It's just-"

"The monster attacks," my dad finished. He sighed. "I had hoped there would not be this many."

"Me, too. It was stupid of me to expect there to be fewer."

"So you are going back to camp?"

"Yes."

"Do you need a ride?"

I shook my head. "Norman and Nicholas are picking me up."

"You've already talked this over with your brothers?"

"Yes. We're dropping Norman off at Furrows on the way back to camp."

He nodded. "Nick will be leaving to get back to Jerry's firm in a couple days. I don't know if I want you at camp all by yourself, Nicki."

I had been prepared for this possible over protectiveness. "I won't be all by myself though. Chiron will be there, and Dionysus. Willow and Aaron will be there too. Dad, please let me go back."

"Will my opinion really matter?"

"No," I replied honestly.

"Then have a good trip. Write me or send an Iris-message." His phone went off. He checked the text. "Oh, shoot, there's an emergency at the office. I have to go, sweetie."

"Bye, Dad." I hugged him before he rushed out the door.

I fell back in the seat. I pulled my straight brown hair back in a messy bun. It usually fell to a few inches past my shoulders. I rested my head on my hands on the table. I had woken up at one last night because of a stupid monster attack. I hate Cyclopes. They are so stupid. That makes them easier to defeat, but still, I do not like them. That was the seventh monster attacks since September. Three were _dracaena_, two were Cyclopes, one was an _empusa_ after a boy in my class, and then there was the Minotaur. I have transferred schools three times already. It was annoying and not needed. I should have never left camp. It did not matter now. I was finally going back.

"Yo! Open the door!"

"Hang on, Norman," I yelled through the house.

I went through the living room to get the door. My twin big brothers, Norman and Nick, were grinning in the door. If I was not their sister, I would have to tell them apart by their hair. Norman has curly hair and Nick has straight hair. They still had some scratches from the battle with Python. The two came in for something to eat. Norman had on his Furrows uniform. I gave it forty seconds before he got whatever he was eating on that stupid tie "by accident".

"Can I use the phone?" he asked. "Never mind. Yes, I can. It's my house." He started dialing.

"Who do you need to call?" I asked.

"Soleil. I want to let her know we're on our way back to Furrows."

"Oh, she's back at Furrows, too?"

"Yeah, why do you think Norman's going?" Nick asked.

Norman threw a banana at Nick as the phone rang on the other end. "Hey, Sol," he said. "Oh, cool…Yeah, I'm on my way back to Furrows…No, I am not on a cell phone. I'm using the landline at my dad's. Do you think I'm an idiot?...It was rhetorical!...Because your soooo smart Ms. I'm-Tracking-Down-A-Monster-of-Chaos."

"More like Ms. Norman St. Vincent," I teased. I caught the banana, unlike Nick.

"Yeah, I know you killed him, I was there…I know, I know…Logan won his meet? That's great!" He covered the mouthpiece and groaned. "Look, we'll just be back soon, okay? Tell Max and Ana I said hey…Yes, Sol, I know…Okay, bye."

He hung up. He put the phone on the hook. He picked up an apple. He started to eat it thoughtfully.

"So, you're still in love with Sol, right?" I asked for clarification purposes.

"Okay, a) I am not in love with Soleil, b) I have a girlfriend and her name is Heidi and she is pretty."

"Pretty stupid," Nick coughed. "Oops, did I say that?"

"Yeah, you did, Hunter lover."

Nick raised an eyebrow. "Pardon?"

"You heard me."

Nick stood up. "I'll be outside."

After he was gone I asked, "What in Hades was that about?"

"Nothing." Norman tossed the apple core out. "I'll take your bags."

Did he really think that because I was a girl I could not pick up my own suitcase? "No, I've got them."

The ride to Furrows was silent. Whatever Norman had said really bothered Nick. Soleil came out to the parking lot to greet us. She tapped on my window. I rolled it down. It was one of those hand crank windows. Nick's car was a used one from the early to mid nineties. Soleil had a scar on her forearm that looked like a snake if you looked at it the right way.

"Hey," she said. "You going back to camp?"

"Yeah," I replied. "Stupid monsters."

"Tell Chiron I said hi."

"I will. Take care of Norman."

She smirked. "Maybe. Only if he embarrasses himself on a regular basis."

"Fine by me."

Norman pulled Soleil away from the window. "Good-bye, Nicolette," he said impatiently.

"Love you, too, bro."

I fell asleep on our way to camp. I had a weird dream about a cat turning into a flower. Well, at least I was not having a dream that was an omen for my death. That can happen when you are a demigod. I woke with a start when we pulled up along Thalia's tree. It was evening by now. I made a mental note to write a letter to my dad to let him know I was here and to ask for him to send the laptop I got for Christmas so I would not have to keep writing letters. Nick walked with me to the Athena cabin. I tossed my suitcase on my bunk to unpack later. I went straight into my chest. I pulled out my bow and arrow, my sword, and my spear. All dad had let me bring home was my knife. He had learned from Nick and Norman. I tried to decide what to do first. Go to the archery range, go to the arena, or go through the forest and try to find a monster to fight. Nick was already sitting at a table, drawing something. It was probably the blueprint of a building he had gotten inspiration for on the way here. I decided to choose the biggest challenge: fight a monster. Dummies are too easy to demolish.

I kept a knife by my side as I trudge through the forest with my celestial bronze sword glowing faintly in the dim lighting. I heard a twig snap to my right. I turned partially. I used my peripheral vision to see what it was. I could make out a large shadow. I lowered my sword a little. The thing moved forward almost silently. A small square of light fell across the thing. It was a giant red ant. A Myrmeke. I stayed still. I thought all the Myrmekes were gone. They were highly dangerous. They had sharp mandibles that could slice you in half and they were impenetrable. If you tried to stab one the sword would bounce right off. Maybe going into the forest had not been a good idea.

The Myrmeke snapped its pincers. I backed up quietly. If a giant, blood red, practically invincible, metal-hoarding ant can look pleased, it did. I must have been moving out of its territory. I took another step back. There was a metallic screeching sound that came from the Myrmekes throat. It scuttled forward quickly. I should have taken a shield.

I ducked as the thing spit. I sliced off a pincer. It gave another metallic screech. I tried to stab its head. It spun around completely. I jumped over its body. I tried to cut off its other pincer. It charged forward when I was in mid-swing. I jumped to the side. It stopped and turned, getting ready to charge again. It ran at me at full speed. I stood my ground, holding up my sword.

Vines broke through the ground. They wrapped completely around the Myrmeke. After it was mummified I put my sword away. It struggled against the vines. They pulled tighter. I turned. My best friend, Willow Thorne, was leaning against a tree. She had black hair that came to her chin and slanted bangs. The tips were dyed lilac. She had violet colored eyes. She had olive skin. Her mother was Demeter.

"I had it under control," I assured her.

"Sure you did, Nicki, sure you did," she responded.

"I did!"

"Didn't I just say that?"

"Yes, but in a sarcastic manner."

"Is there any other manner I could say it?"

"Most likely not. Can we please stop saying the word manner? I find it irksome."

"It is irksome."

"Very."

We walked along the path. She had skipped archery to find me. She, like many other children of Demeter, was not big into the combat thing. I asked her how camp had been the few months I was gone. She said fine. She told me a story about how one of her brothers got thrown off a pegasus when he was flying over the Sound. Willow's interpretation had me gasping for air by the time we were out of the forest.

"Yay! Dinero time," she said as we walked to the pavilion.

"Dinero means money."

"Oh, who cares?"

We split to join our lines. My other best friend, Aaron Sprint, descended from the sky with his flying sneakers to join the Nike line. He waved to me before tossing some potatoes in the flames for the gods. I sat with my three other siblings at the table. One was my sister Carol, who was nine. Then there was Eddie, fifteen, and Nick, sixteen. I listened as Carol told me all about her Christmas. She was talking about the scarf her aunt had gotten her when she stopped suddenly. She scowled.

"What?" I asked.

"Them," she replied.

I looked to the side. The Enyo cabin was late, again. They were probably off destroying someone's property. They excel at such tasks. Considering there are only three of them, they wreak a lot of havoc. The head camper is not even that bad. He is this eighteen year old materialist who thinks he is too awesome for the world. It is the Speare kids you need to watch out for.

Ivy Speare. She is not as bad as her brother. She has long dark brown wavy hair. Long bangs, too. She is twelve years old and could break you in half in seconds. She is a ruthless fighter that hardly ever gives up. She is actually more personable than you think. Even more shocking, she is an animal lover. All the pegasi love her. I guess she could be worse.

Then there is Shylock Speare. Ah, where do I begin to explain Shylock? Better yet, where do I end? He has long bangs, black hair, and blue eyes. He is horrible, mean, cruel, sarcastic, proud, coldhearted, malicious, cocky, and so much more. He never gives up in a fight. Ever. He has no strategy, but he can kick butt, I must admit. That is part of the reason I dislike him. He can beat me. However, I have beaten him before too. That is why he dislikes me.

"They trashed our cabin in November," Eddie explained. "They broke my bow and tore out all the pages of Carol's marine animal books."

"The twins told me," I said.

I hardly ate any more of my dinner. I skipped the campfire to go to bed early. I passed Aaron on the way to my cabin. We waved again but he had to go. He was friends with Shylock for some reason. They have been neighbors since they were little. So Aaron knew him _before_ he realized he was supposed to be a destructive brute. When I got into my cabin I realized I still had to unpack. I put my backpack under my bed. I put all my clothes in my trunk and slid my suitcase under the bed too. I rested my weapons on top of my closed trunk. I had originally planned on going to sleep, but now I was awake. I grabbed a book off one of the many shelves. It was about the Trojan War.

I woke up around five. I was lying backwards on my bed with my feet hanging off. The book was on my back. I pulled myself out of bed sleepily. I knew at this time I would never get back to sleep. I grabbed some clothes out of my trunk and trudged into the bathroom. I splashed water on my face to wake me up a little more. I pulled on my ripped jeans and the orange camp t-shirt. I tossed my clothes from yesterday in the hamper. I put on a little bit of black eyeliner. It was kind of my signature, along with black painted nails.

I strolled out of the cabin, pulling my hair back. Some Apollo children were already walking to the pavilion to eat. I headed over too. I was done with my meal before any of my siblings woke up. I grabbed my bow and arrow and headed to the archery range. I brought my knife with me in case I wanted to hit the arena before all the cabins started going for lessons.

"Raise your elbow half an inch and pull the string to the tip of your ear," a voice instructed.

I tried this out. My arrow sailed quickly into the center circle. I tried it again just to make sure it was not a fluke. It was not. I turned. "Hey, tha-" I stopped short. It was Shylock. "What do you want?"

"Well, I heard Ivan the Terrible-oh, I mean you, were back so I decided to say hey."

"Really? Last time I came back you demolished my suitcase and everything in it."

"Not everything," he reminded me.

"I have a question: do you get satisfaction knowing what you do is going to get you in trouble or knowing what you do will make the victim either pissed off or devastated?"

He ignored the question. There was even more of an edge in his voice. "How is the big bad real world?"

"You would know if you weren't such a coward and went there sometimes."

His hand went to his sword. "Don't push me, Nicolette."

I pushed him backwards. "What are you going to do about it?"

He drew his sword. Another one blocked his swing. It was his sister. She took the sword away from him. She had grown a couple inches since I last saw her.

"C'mon, you're helping me feed the pegasi," she told him. She glanced at me. "Hey, Nicki. Chiron wants to see you or something."

She dragged her steaming brother behind her. I put my bow and arrow back in my cabin. Nick was waking up. I jogged to the Big House. Dionysus was sipping Coca-cola on the porch. I walked in. Chiron was not in the living room. I checked the kitchen. He was not there either. I looked up the stairs. There was no way he was up there. I went back outside. I circled all the way around to the back of the Big House. When I did not find him I went back to Mr. D.

"Where's Chiron?" I asked him.

"Who knows where that old horse is?" he responded. He grunted a laugh. "Me, that's who. He's at the docks."

I went to the docks. Chiron was standing at the end. I walked over. He nodded at me in acknowledgement.

"Hello," I greeted.

"Do you know who Lamia is?"

"She's that demon that eats little children," I responded. "She has a serpent tail."

He nodded. "Yes. And she is trying to break into camp."

"What?" I looked at Thalia's tree where our watch dragon Peleus was napping.

"She is not here yet. The Oracle, Ana, has foreseen her arrival. It will be later this evening."

"Shouldn't you be talking to one of the older campers about his?"

"I am speaking with every member of the Athena and Ares cabin. I want one of you on border watch at all times, two if possible."

"I'll try."

"Thank you, Nicki."

I went to the arena with my cabin later on for practice. I beat Eddie twice. We went to Arts and Crafts after lunch. I tried to make an arrow but it did not work because I could not get the balance right. It was not until I was cleaning my cabin for inspection that I heard about the Capture the Flag game.

"We're on Ares," Carol said. "We are so going to win."

I high-fived her. "Yeah, we are."

"Maybe not," Nick said, just having to be the voice of reason among the voices of reason. "It's Enyo versus Ares."

"This will be a fair game."

"More like a bloody game," Eddie commented from under his bed where he was searching for a hat.

"Maybe it would be best if Carol didn't play," Nick suggested.

"Are you crazy?" She demanded of him. "I can kick-ass and you know it! I am playing."

I stifled a laugh. "Yeah," I agreed. "Let her play."

"Fine," he consented. "But if you get maimed it is not my fault."

"Cabin inspection," the camper said as she knocked on the door, already looking around.

"Better than last time." She smiled at Nick. "Hey, Nick."

"Hey," he said absently as he put a couple books away. "Has anyone seen _The Odyssey_? I was reading it the other day and I swear I put it back."

The girl cleared her throat. "Good job guys. Bye." She left, blushing a little.

"Jerk," Carol and I yelled at Nick.

"What?" he asked innocently.

"She was flirting!" Carol pointed out.

"Who?"

"The girl that just came in."

"She was?"

"Yes."

"Oh…Eddie, is _The Odyssey_ under there?"

Eddie stood up with dust all over him and a baseball hat in his hand. "No, and I am not going back to check unless I have an oxygen tank."

Nick groaned. "I know I put it back…" He plopped down at his table, scribbling furiously on a piece of paper. After a few seconds he looked up at me. "Why are you staring at me like that?"

"Never mind, never mind."

I went canoeing with Willow and Aaron later on, both of whom were on Ares' side. Willow was not as excited about it as Aaron and I. I guess having Aaron and his siblings on our team was a kind of good luck charm. Nike was the goddess of victory so that had to mean something, right? My bubble was totally burst when I was walking back to my cabin and Chiron cantered up to me.

"I am sorry to inform you Nicki, but you have border duty during the Capture the Flag game."

Before I could protest he was already running to break up a fight between some sons of Apollo and Ares. I went to the basketball court where Aaron and his sister were playing one on one. He called for a timeout to rest when he saw me. He took a huge swig of his water before asking why I looked so angry.

"I have border duty during Capture the Flag," I said, looking at the ground. "I want to say it's not fair, but I owe it to the camp to protect this place. I'll be fine in a little while."

"Okay. If it makes you feel any better, I'm not playing either."

"Why?"

"There's a chariot race next week." He motioned to his sister. "We're starting the chariot later on. It's gonna be the sickest chariot ever."

"I'm sure it will be."

"Are you going to be in the race?"

"Well, my mom _did_ invent the chariot."

"Oh, yeah, I totally forgot."

With Aaron, forgot usually means he never knew that. I love the kid, but would it kill him to crack open a Greek mythology book? I can name twenty off the top of my head that he could read. "Of course. Let me know who wins the game if I'm not off patrol by the time it ends."

"No problem. Have you seen Shylock?"

"No."

"Neither have I. I need his help with adding the weapons to the chariot."

"If I see him I'll let you know."

"No, you won't."

"No, I really won't." I smiled. "You really need to stop knowing me so well. I'll see you later."

I was on border patrol with two sons of Hermes and a daughter of Iris. I stood the farthest away from Peleus in our line. I paced back and forth about ten yards. Lamia was due any minute. I heard shouting and screaming from the forest. It made me want to play even more. I really hoped the Ares team was kicking the Enyo team's butt. I had a mental image of Carol beating the crap out of campers double her age.

I heard something. I looked down the road at the bottom of the hill. I could see a dust cloud building.

"We have company," I announced.

We watched the car get closer. It stopped at the bottom of the hill. No one got out. The window lowered but no one got out. I motioned for one of the Hermes sons to follow me. We walked down the hill to the rolled down window.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter 2**_

The Hermes camper was practically speechless when he saw the woman. She had the kind of super model looks many would die for. She smiled brightly.

"Hey, kids," she had a different accent, older, "would you mind if I stopped to use your phone?"

"Sure, no problem," the Hermes camper agreed.

"We don't allow strangers in," I tried to protest but she was already getting out of the car. I shot the mush brained hormonal Hermes son a death glare.

The woman got out of the car. She had a long flowing skirt. Odd, it was just long enough to hide something such as, I do not know, a serpent tail. "I feel I should offer you some type of compensation for letting me use your phone," she said. She reached in her purse. I gripped my sword. I held my shield up a little bit. She pulled out a gun. She pointed it at the Hermes kid's throat. She gave a weird sound of satisfaction. It was somewhere between a hiss and a sigh. I raised my sword. She spun to face me.

"Don't," she said. Her eyes had become all white. Her skin glowed faintly yellow. Her serpent tail flicked behind her. "I will kill you with one shot, and cut you up with your own sword." She sniffed the air. She flicked her tongue. "Ah, you are aged. I'm in the mood for something aged."

The other Hermes camper and the daughter of Iris ran down the hill. The Hermes boy tried to shoot Lamia. She flicked the arrow away with her tail. It sailed right back at the boy. It hit his shoulder. I motioned for the Iris girl to stop. She did. I looked back at Lamia. I glared at her.

"Ah, a daughter of Athena," she cooed. "I love smart food."

The Hermes camper who was near Lamia managed to hit the gun out of her hand with the butt of his sword. She spun on him. She got on all fours. He backed up. She crawled forward quickly. I tried to stab down on her tail but she moved it out of the way. I tried again. It still did not work. I leaped on her back. She wrapped her scaly tail around my chest. I was not able to breath. She flung me to the side. The shield came off my arm. I left it on the ground. I got up and advanced on Lamia again.

She leaped at the Hermes boy. He was pinned to the ground. I swung at her neck. She rolled out of the way. "Wake up Peleus!" I yelled at the daughter of Iris. She ran over to him. Lamia crawled toward me. I backed up. I was going back up the hill. Lamia sprang forward a little. I kicked her in the face. She snarled. I held my sword level with her face.

The Hermes boy ran up behind her. He was quiet enough for me not to hear him. Somehow Lamia did. She twirled around, standing up on her legs. She tackled the boy. She bit a chunk out of his arm. I steeled myself against the horror and pain on the boy's face. I did not even look at his arm. I took another slash at Lamia. It cut her across the back enough for gross green blood to start flowing. She still lived though. She turned back to me.

I ran up the hill. Lamia followed at an alarming rate. I stopped at the top of the hill. I could still hear the sounds of the Capture the Flag game. I glanced to the side. Peleus was still asleep. I got a terrible idea that could have very bad or very good results. I figured the chances of it having good results were greater. I went over the magical border. Lamia hit it like it was a brick wall. She growled. I backed up a few feet. I took a deep breath.

"I, Nicolette Amelia St. Vincent, grant you permission to enter Camp Half-blood," I yelled.

I ran down the hill. Lamia followed, startled. I ran all the way to the forest. When Chiron saw me he started forward angrily. I ran right into the forest. Apparently giant half-lizard half-humans have trouble running through forests. Not my fault. I broke through into the border. Hardly anyone was there.

"Monster attack!" I screamed. You could probably hear me at the hill.

I ran through the forest, repeating my cry. Campers ran forward from all sides. One even jumped right over my head. Some satyrs and a couple dryads joined the fight too. At Zeus's Fist I turned back. I heard the shouts of a huge fight. Back at the river, everyone started high-fiving each other. Lamia was dead and gone. Chiron stopped next to me.

"The Hermes campers at the border," I told him. "They need medical assistance."

"I will talk to you about this later," he said before leaving.

Willow skirted around the happy group of campers. She crossed her arms. "You just had to get into the game somehow, didn't you?" she asked lightly.

"Maybe," I responded.

"I guess it was a good idea. I'm not really one for strategies."

"I've noticed."

"Hey!"

Aaron flew in on his feathered shoes. "Good idea," he said. "Especially since we were losing."

"How?"

"Somewhere between badly and epically."

"Yeah," Willow agreed. "We were kind of all slacking off a little. And the Ares kids were being meanies."

"Meanies?" Aaron asked.

"It's her new word," I clarified.

"I thought your new word was grrrfunkle."

"That's my new word for when I'm angry, exasperated, annoyed, or any other similar emotions," she explained.

"You confuse me with your words." He frowned. "But they were being, uh, meanies. They wouldn't let anyone else fight. We all had to just guard."

"But everyone knows you send a fast runner and a good fighter for the flag," I said.

"Yeah, everyone but the Ares kids apparently."

"They really should do that. Maybe I should talk to-"

A whistle blew. Mr. D sauntered out of the trees. Satyrs walked nervously behind him. He glared at all of us.

"This game will not resume again until tomorrow," he announced. He pointed at me. "Because of _her_."

I was glad to see no one was too disappointed that the game was postponed for a little while. They were all excitedly describing their parts in the slaying of Lamia. Willow went back to join her cabin. Aaron went to look for his knife, which he had dropped while flying over the trees. He does stuff like that a lot. Eddie and Nick were hoisting a beaming Carol on their shoulders. She raised her knife and cheered as if she had won a war. I gave her a thumb's up when she looked at me.

I went for a quick walk through the forest. Someone dropped from a branch. It was Ivy Speare.

"'Sup?" she said.

"Um, nothing," I replied. I was shocked she was speaking to me in such a civilized way.

"Did you hear about the Hunters?"

My ears perked up. "What about them?"

"They got in this huge fight somewhere in Toronto with this group of monsters and about a quarter of them died."

"That's horrible."

"Yeah, I guess. But, word on the street is that the Hunters might be paying a quick visit here soon to recruit some girls."

I smiled. "That's great. I didn't know you had an interest in the Hunt."

She shrugged. "I kinda do." She walked backwards. "I know you do so I just thought I would let you know."

"Yeah, uh, thanks?"

That was the first time I had ever thanked a child of Enyo. Maybe Ivy really was not that bad. It was just her brother. I tried to go see Chiron, but he was busy. I went back to my cabin and fell asleep quickly from exhaustion. Fighting an immortal cannibal can do that to you.

I fixed my fishnet tights under my black denim shorts. My black high tops were slightly speckled with mud from the last time I wore them. I brushed bagel crumbs off my rainbow tie-dyed shirt. I kicked my feet up on the bench on the other side of the table while I finished my breakfast. Everyone else was off doing something. Nick had left about a half hour ago to go back to Florida for his internship, Eddie was searching our whole cabin for _The Odyssey_ like Nick had instructed, and Carol was in the Arts and Crafts room trying to build a mini-bookcase.

I swung my sword aimlessly while I walked to the arena. I tried to think of reasons why Lamia would suddenly show up at camp. It was not abnormal for monsters to try to get in, but this was different. The Oracle usually does not announce the arrival of monsters. We also hardly ever have border patrols when monsters came. I had yet to talk to Chiron. I made a mental note to mention this after he scolded me for letting Lamia into the camp.

"I know you did it on purpose."

I turned and left the arena without even looking at the person who had spoken. Shylock just had to be at the arena too. I would just go into the forest again. The Myrmeke had been removed, not like that made everything else in the forest seem like a little pink pony. I was near the river when Shylock just appeared out of nowhere by dropping down from a tree. Were Enyo kids part squirrel?

"I know you did it on purpose," he repeated.

"I believe you said that already."

"That's because it's true." He started toward me. "I'm sure it was just a spontaneous idea of yours to let Lamia in during the game."

"It was."

"Sure. And it had nothing to do with my team winning?"

"Okay, a) I thought my team was winning, b) Lamia had just bitten part of a boy's arm off and was going to attack me so I thought it might help to have just a little bit of back up."

"That defense seems pretty planned."

"Maybe that's because you are too stupid and ignorant to realize I'm telling the truth."

"Of course that's it."

"It is it, though."

"Tell me, did you buy your outfit intending to wear it or use it as a makeshift barf bag?" He looked at my shirt and scrunched his nose. "Obviously a barf bag."

"Tell me, was your face meant to be that distorted or did your mother just think you were too ugly and tried to smack and burn your face into something better?" I looked him over. "Obviously it failed horribly."

His knife flashed through the air. I felt a sting on my cheek before I registered he had cut me. The blood started to trickle down my cheek. I pulled my sword out as he held up his knife with a menacing glare. I slammed the flat of the blade on his opposite shoulder, twirled around him, and hit his spine with the flat of the sword too. He swung at me wildly. I ducked. He stabbed down. The knife barely grazed my back. I stood up. I kicked him back against a tree. He raised his knife high. I blocked it. I twisted my sword and flicked the knife out of his hand. He pushed me back. He grabbed the hand holding my sword. He tried to pry it lose. I kicked him back again.

I picked his knife up off the ground. He advanced. Like I said, he never gives up. He dodged a swing and punched me in the stomach. I swung my sword and knocked his feet out from under him. I knelt on his chest on one knee. I placed the tip of his knife against his pulse.

"Surrender?" I asked.

"Do I ever?"

"Only when you're weaponless, and, oh my, you're weaponless."

"No I'm not."

"What could you possibly have left?"

"My deadly good looks."

I stabbed his knife into the ground right next to his face. "Don't count on it working on me." I stood up. "Actually, don't count on it working on anyone."

"It worked on Willow."

"She's different."

"How?"

"She's weird, but in the best way possible."

He pulled the knife out of the ground. He stood up. "Yeah, Aaron says that too."

I sent him a disgusted glare. "I have no idea why he even hangs out with you."

"Because unlike some people," he coughed, "you," he coughed again, "he finds me to be a good person."

"That's why I fear for his mental health."

"I think it's your own mental health you need to be worrying about."

I pointed at myself. "Hello, daughter of Athena."

"Don't look like one."

"You've already insulted my style choices today."

"Oh, right." He looked me over. "That wasn't really what I meant though."

I did not like the look he was giving me. "Buzz off, perv."

He stepped closer. "Why?"

"I have a sword."

"It'd be worth it."

"Ugh!"

I stormed away, cutting branches out of my way. I thought I saw a monster to the left but it ran away. Shouldn't I be the one running away? I marched all the way back to my cabin. I threw my sword on top of my trunk when I got there. Carol looked up from her bed where she was reading a book on the reproduction process of a sea horse. I snatched the book away from her. She was way too young to read that. I put it at the bottom of my trunk and double locked it. I had learned the hard way she could pick locks so mine were heavy duty. Eddie walked in with a curled up piece of paper. I knew it was the blueprints for the chariot. He was getting really into that race.

I went to the climbing wall. It was full so I had to do something else. I went to the beach shore to just hang out for a little while. I lied down in the sand. I was thinking of the various things that could be added to our chariot like automatic arrow shooters and marbles when Willow came over. I sat up a little.

"What've you been up to today?" she asked.

"Nothing much. I kind of got in a sword-fight with Shylock in the forest."

"Is that where the cut is from?"

"Yes. He is such a jerk."

"Why? I mean, besides the obvious."

"I'm not one hundred percent sure, but I think he hit on me."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, back it up, did _you_ just say you're not one hundred percent sure? Oh my goodness, the alpococlip is next week."

"It's apocalypse."

"Whatever. I don't care. I'll probably be dead before it happens anyway. Unless people continue treating earth the way they do, then I will be alive for it and I will not be happy. I mean, would it really kill someone to find a trash and-"

"Willow!"

"Oh, sorry. I tend to rant about that."

And so much else. "I know."

"So why do you think he quote unquote hit on you?"

"I don't know, he was just looking at me weird and before he had said he had 'deadly good looks'. Yeah, right!"

She coughed awkwardly. "Yeah, I mean he's totally…I really wouldn't call them deadly, but they are good looks."

I closed my eyes. "Oh my gods, his disease is spreading."

"I said he was good looking, not that I liked him. He's still an inconsiderate, mean, self important, cruel-"

"Hey, Willow?"

"Yeah?"

"How many words do you think you say in one day?"

"I don't know, it depends. If I have coffee I get a lot in during the morning, and I tend to speak more in the afternoon. But if my stomach hurts or my head I don't talk as much, obviously. At night I don't talk as much. When I first wake up I'm practically mute-"

"Okay, that's good."

She laughed. "Sorry." She looked back. "I wish I had Aaron's shoes. I want to fly."

"Would you be able to do that without falling?"

"Hey, it's Yolanda that trips on mid-air, not me!"

Yolanda is a girl who I was really good friends with who used to go to Camp Half-blood but she moved to California a couple years ago. She was a daughter of Echo. "Yeah, I know."

Aaron flew over. "I heard you and Shylock got in a tussle," he said to me.

"Okay, not even I say tussle, and I use a lot of words," I said to avoid the subject because I have no idea how Shylock twisted the tale when he told it to Aaron. I looked at Willow for help in getting away from it.

"How are…," Willow looked for something, "your siblings?" I am doomed.

"Fine," Aaron responded.

"What's the latest on the chariot you're using for the race?"

"Um, it's bronze. I'm not going to tell you anything. You might use it to on your own chariot."

"You think I'm going to be in the race? I'd steer the thing off the track and into the lake in ten seconds."

"True, but I meant Nicki."

I held my hands over my ears. "See? I can't hear a thing."

"Sure you can't."

"What?"

"I said sure you can't."

"WHAT?"

He shook his head. "You're so-"

_BANG!_ We all looked back. I saw smoke curling up from somewhere. All three of us got up and ran toward where it was coming from. We stumbled to a halt near the climbing walls. It was split completely in half, with lava squirting straight up. A large group of things that looked like jackals were crawling around in front. I was pushed out of the way as someone ran forward to fight the things. Naturally, I ran forward too.

"Wren!" I yelled.

The daughter of Zephyr tossed me the sword she was holding. I cut off the head of a jackal as it leaped at me. I noticed the things had no eyes and whip like tails with spikes at the end. I did not recognize them from any myths. They seemed oddly familiar though, almost as if from a dream. Well, a nightmare in this case.

I stabbed through the back of another one of the jackals. I used the sword, implanted in the ground, as a form of balance as I did a handless cartwheel to avoid a spike shot by one of the monsters. I pulled my sword out of the ground and deflected a leaping jackal. I kicked another one back before an arrow caught it in the heart. There were still about a dozen left. They were not exactly smart fighters though.

I spun. A spike flew right by my ear. I needed a shield badly. I hit a jackal on the head with the hilt of my sword before slicing another one in half. A satyr leaped out of nowhere over my head. He started killing the jackals off expertly. I covered his back. Dang, these things could jump high. I cut one across the neck and chopped off the head of three others. I hit the ground as a volley of arrows shot through the air. They took out all the remaining jackals.

"Nice job," I told the satyr as we stood up.

He shrugged. "You ain't so bad yourself, demigod."

"I'd hope not."

He trotted away to speak with some of his other satyr friends. A couple dryads started showering him with compliments. Eddie clapped me on the back. He was out of breath, like he had just gotten there. The Apollo and Cupid kids were retrieving their arrows. Chiron was tending to a son of Ares who had gotten a nasty bite on his leg. They were all leaving when the two parts of the rock wall started trembling. It was only a slight tremble so no one noticed it at first. About two thirds of the campers were already gone. I was starting to walk away myself when I noticed it. I stopped and looked back over my shoulder at the wall. The trembling stopped.

I gave Wren back her sword. I went to my cabin to get mine. I was going to take one more visit to the arena today. The little fight had pumped me up. I invited Eddie but he was already heading to the archery range. I passed Willow at the volleyball court. When I asked if she wanted to join me she refused quickly. I stopped by the rock wall to see if they had done anything to fix it. A few campers still hung around, but they were Hephaestus kids. They were trying to figure out the best way to get the rock wall back into one piece again. The lava had at least stopped spurting out.

"Hey! Nicolette!"

I turned. Greaaaat, Shylock. "What?"

He ran over. "Why in Hades did you join the fight? I had those things."

"You were fighting? Oh, that's why I had to deal with so many."

He pointed at me. "I would have killed those things if you hadn't come in."

"So it's my fault for killing monster that's inexplicably got into camp? Who's to say you didn't let them in?"

"I didn't."

"I can't believe you're getting mad about this. Do you always need to be arguing with someone about something?"

"No."

"Of course not. How silly of me to ask such a preposterous question?"

There was a low growling sound. I already had my sword out before I turned. It was another jackal, except this guy was the size of a baby elephant. I think it is appropriate that I give him his own name. How about Killer? Yes, that is a good name for him I think. He had obviously jumped out from the rocks. I looked around for the Hephaestus kids but they were no where to be found. Fantastic, this was just absolutely _fantastic_.

Killer crouched low. I moved forward tentatively. He, I guess, watched me. It was weird to have his face pointed at my exact location without him actually having eyes. I had an odd feeling he was glaring at me in his own way. I held my sword up. Killer came no closer. Shylock stepped forward with his knife raised. Killer remained where he was. All he did was growl a little. I glanced at Shylock, who was confused too. Why was Killer not fighting? It was almost as if he could not make the first move. It was like we had to challenge him…

"Shylock! No!" I screamed as he ran forward. Impulsive idiot.

Shylock made one lunge at Killer and the beast went wild. He smacked Shylock out of the way like a squeaky toy. He drooled as he approached me. I backed up. Like that worked so well. Killer leaped. I dived forward, getting giant jackal drool on my heel. Gross. I stabbed at Killer's hind legs. I managed to get my sword embedded in the hindquarters of his left leg, causing Killer to howl hoarsely. I pulled the sword out before he turned. It was covered in gooey black blood. I wiped it on the ground as Killer spun angrily.

"Hey! Ugly butt! Over here!" Shylock yelled from the side.

"Ugly butt?" I could not help but ask. "His butt is not the only thing that's ugly."

Killer snarled. He snapped his teeth just feet from my face. That can freak you out a bit. Shylock hurled a few more insults at Killer. That was the only time in my life that I appreciated his better than usual ability to insult people, or things, in this case. Killer was distracted. When turned on Shylock, I did a running jump onto his back. I grabbed the fur on the back of his neck to avoid being thrown off as he started bucking around, almost throwing me off. He flipped backward. The sword slipped right out of my hand. As Killer started running I hung on for dear life.

Campers were just now starting to notice what was going on. They ran out of cabins and from their lessons. Killer ran right into the arena. I jumped off. I stole two swords from two different campers who were cowering behind dummies. They made no objections. I chased after Killer as he reached the other end of the arena. He pounced at me. I cut his stomach as he went right over me. He hit the ground with a loud thud but got back up again. I tried to cut his mouth. He bit the sword. It bent completely in half. Mental note: giant jackals have very powerful jaws.

I tried a lunge at his neck. He slammed the sword down with his paw. My grip was too tight on the sword. My arm was jerked down to the ground, twisting painfully. I fell down. Killer "looked" down at me right above. He opened his jaw. If only that was the last thing I had seen. Instead Killer rolled to the side. I rolled into a standing position. There was a spear in Killer's side. It was not very deep. He got back up.

My arm was not broken or sprained, but it was too sore for me to use it that much. Thankfully it was my left arm and I am right handed. I switched the sword to my right hand. I saw Chiron appear at the entrance to the arena. Killer heard him too. He also heard Shylock charging. I tried to yell at Shylock to stop, but he kept going. He slid under Killer and cut the inside of his leg before rolling out from underneath him and jumping on his back. He stabbed Killer in the back. I have no idea how thick Killer's fur was. It had seemed pretty thick when I was clutching it. Apparently it was thick enough for the knife to barely affect him. He threw Shylock off. Chiron was almost there.

Shylock threw his knife at Killer. "Give it up!" I yelled at him as Chiron approached. I knew he heard me, but Shylock did not pay attention. He picked the spear up off the ground. Killer tried to bite him. He placed the spear in the jackal's jaw. It stunned Killer for a second. He snapped it when he clamped his jaw shut. Chiron intervened. He cantered forward and placed himself between Killer and Shylock.

"Get back to your cabin," he said to Shylock. He looked at Killer. He waved his hand. "Be gone!"

Killer whimpered. He scampered off. I saw Mr. D watch him from the entrance to the arena. "Well," he called, "today sure has been interesting." He walked away smirking. I looked at Chiron. He told Shylock yet again to go back to his cabin. He motioned for me to talk to him. I walked over.

"We must talk," he said.

Yeah, because that was not obvious. "I know, sir."

"I meant now." He looked around. "We need a better place to speak. Follow me."


	3. Chapter 3

I followed Chiron into the stables. All the pegasi neighed. They bent on their knee. Chiron motioned for them to stand. He told them to go back to their business. I waited for Chiron to start speaking. It was like waiting for Killer to make the first move. You feared it, but you knew it had to come and did not want to be the one to make the first move instead. However, right now, there was no stupid child of Enyo to barge in and Chiron was not making the first move any time soon.

"Why were those jackal creatures able to get into camp?" I asked.

"They were let in," Chiron said quietly.

"By who?"

"A god."

This was a bit of a shock to me. "Which god? Why?"

"Morpheus…and I really do not know."

"I can't believe he would do that…his two daughters go here!"

"And his son. He is only ten and just arrived with terrible monster wounds that I really must take a closer look at soon." He closed his eyes for a brief second. "Now, about Lamia…"

"I only did that because I knew there was no way she could survive."

"I know. It was smart to do what you did. It was more of a surprise to me that you let a monster get away from you."

"Technically, I didn't let it-"

"I meant I found it surprising you let others take care of her. It's very unlike you."

"I occasionally let others show off what they've got. I'm not some big-headed blood loving child of-"

"Do not be so hard on the children of Enyo. They are not big-headed or blood loving. Well, not as much as you think. You must learn to tolerate them." He pulled a paper from his saddle bag, handing it to me. "This is a brochure for the Hunt. I was asked that you receive it."

"By who?"

He winked. "A very important person in their association."

I sat on a pile of hay and brought my knees up to my chest. I started to flip through the brochure. I was reading about the meals when I heard the stable door slam shut. I looked up. Shylock, that horrid jerk, was leaning against the door with his arms crossed. I wished I had my knife. Oh, wait, I did. I wrapped my fingers around the handle.

"I had it," he said in a defensive way. "That monster was mine."

"That's what you said about the smaller jackals," I mused. "I find it convenient you happened to be there for both fights."

"So were you."

"True, but I'm not trying to start a fight with someone for helping me."

"Next time you decide to help me, don't."

"Why?"

"Because I don't need another reason for my mother to-Never mind."

I got off the hay stack. "What? You don't need another reason for your mother to what?"

He flung open the stable door with so much angry force the door splintered a little. The pegasi neighed nervously. I let the Hunter brochure slide off the hay stack as I chased Shylock. There is no way you can say something like that and not expect people to wonder what in Hades you meant to say. Shylock ran straight into the forest when he realized I was behind him. I followed. He disappeared up into a tree. How could he do that? I tried to follow the rustling sound of leaves. I heard a low growl up ahead. A dryad melted into her tree. I walked forward a little bit more slowly. I pushed back a branch as the growling became louder.

I smiled at the sight of the large white dogs. I gave up on trying to find Shylock and figure out what he had been saying so I could get back to camp. I sprinted as fast as I could. I just managed to see the last of the Hunters file into the Artemis cabin. I looked for Willow. She was in her cabin, reading a book called "Firefly Lane". She seemed really sad so I guessed she was at the part where…well, basically about any part in the book. I had read it before. I cried at the end. Athena campers do not cry that much. I pushed the book out of her hand even if I did love it and yanked her off her seat. I dragged her behind me. I hooked my arm around Aaron's as he passed in the opposite direction. I spun him around. They both protested as I got closer to my cabin. I threw them both inside. Willow kind of tripped and fell, but she probably would have done that whether I had pushed her or not.

"What in Hades is your problem?" she asked as she rubbed her head. "I was right at the part where Johnny was telling Katie that he-"

"The Hunters are here!" I exclaimed.

Aaron's eyes widened a little. "I think I'm going to go make sure they're all right."

"Do you want an arrow as a belly button ring?"

"Um, no."

"Then I would recommend you stay here."

Aaron hopped up on a table. He glanced down. "Are these your chariot designs?"

I ran over and snatched the papers away. "No." Eddie would have killed me if he knew Aaron had seen those. I tossed them under my pillow. "Those were some of Nick's design plans. You know him. He can't go two minutes without creating the next great thing in architecture."

"Uh-huh, sure."

"Why does it matter that the Hunters are here?" Willow asked, getting back to the main subject.

"Because their recruiting!" I answered.

"And? Oh, right, you're interested in joining."

"Why do you say it like that?"

"Well, I can't really picture you as a Hunter."

"Why not?"

"I just can't."

"Yeah, me either," Aaron said truthfully.

"That totally sucks then, because I'm joining."

"If that's what you want to do, then do it, I was just saying my opinion," Willow defended.

"I know." I looked around. "I'm going to miss this place when I join."

"You'll be able to visit," Aaron reminded me. "You know, if you don't die."

Willow smacked him in the head. "Shut up, doofus."

"He's right."

Aaron did a fist pump. "Yeah, I'm right. Ha!"

Willow rolled her eyes. "You're happy about being right that you predicted your best friend's death?"

He tried to think of something to change the subject. "So, the Capture the Flag game, that's gonna be fun, right?"

Willow rolled her eyes again. She looked at Aaron. "Get out."

"What?"

"Get out. I need to talk to Nicki."

He rocked back and forth on his toes. "About what?"

"You really don't want to know."

He looked a little pale. "I'm leaving." He bolted out the door. Boys are so easy to manipulate.

"What's up?" I asked Willow.

She crossed her arms. "What am I going to do?"

"About what?"

"My wingwoman! If you're gone who am I going to have as my wingwoman?"

"A parrot?" I laughed at my own stupid pun. "Why would you need me as your wingwoman?"

"Is it really not obvious?"

"Is what not obvious?"

She threw her hands up. "I like Aaron!"

"Oh...really? Since when?"

"A while ago."

"Oh, okay." I really did not get why she seemed so interested by this. "Um, I need to go talk to Lady Artemis. You know, do the vow thingy."

"Yeah, I know. Hey, can the Hunters, like, send letters or whatever?"

I shrugged. "Probably."

"Good."

"It's not like I'm falling off the face of the earth. I'll still be here until at least tomorrow."

"Yeah, true." She walked out. She turned. "By the way, is Johnny still in love with Tully?"

I pretended to zip my lips shut. "I can't tell you anything."

She groaned. "You are so annoying."  
After she walked away I decided to change. My clothes had gotten torn and dirty while fighting Killer. I went into the bathroom. I changed into black jeans, a purple tank top underneath a black Green Day t-shirt that said "Do you know what's worth fighting for?" with the collar cut off so it was an off the shoulder tee, and white leathery boots. I pulled on a black and gray striped hoodie before going outside. I slipped my knife up my sleeve.

I bumped into a new camper on the way to the Artemis cabin. I guessed they were new because I had never seen them before. The person was about eighteen or nineteen. They were blond, with dark brown eyes. I took a double take. Their eyes were black. I do not mean they were black irises. They were completely black. I took a step back. They had long fingernails, like claws. He grinned. His teeth were pointed. I slid the knife out of my sleeve.

"Hey, who are you?" I asked.

"Raul," he responded with a metallic voice.

"Nice name."

His nails scraped across my knife with a piercing sound as I blocked his attempt to hit me. My knife's blade split completely in half. I threw the hilt of my knife, the only thing left, at the creepy guy's head. It had no negative affect. He just smiled that gruesome smile. I kicked open the door to the Artemis cabin. There had to be a weapon in here somewhere. I slid under a bed as Raul came in. He was on all fours. That was weird. I crawled out from my hiding space. I grabbed a lamp off a nearby nightstand. I flung it at him. He ducked. It sailed out the window. He leaped at me. Humans are not supposed to leap like that. I used a pillow to smack him in the face. He was momentarily distracted.

I kicked him behind his knees. I grabbed one clawed hand and yanked it back. I pushed his neck forward. He spun. His arm was totally twisted. It was like rubber. He scratched me across the face. The cut from Shylock opened and started to bleed along with the four other new ones. I kneed him in the face. I rolled over a bed to get out of the way as he tried to punch me. I jumped over another to get to a shelf. He leaped again. I completely ripped the shelf off the wall. The stuffed animal white dog fell off it. I swung it around. It hit Raul right in the stomach. He flew back unto a bed.

I ran over. I yanked the sheet up so he was flipped over. I wrapped the sheet around his neck. I pulled it tight. He clawed at me. I spotted a quiver of arrows under a nearby bed. I pulled an arrow out. He was standing up. He crawled forward quickly. I flipped over him. I kicked him in the spine. When he fell I jabbed the arrow in his kidney. He slowly disintegrated. I looked up. A group of girls were standing in the doorway. The one in front had short black hair that was spiked and freckles. She looked a little troubled, but grinned slightly.

"Nice job," she said in approval. "We could use some of that."

I smiled broadly. "Thank you."

"I don't suppose it's a coincidence you're in this cabin."

"No, it's really not." I took a deep breath. "I want to join the Hunt."

A girl with long black hair stepped forward. It was French-braided to stay out of her face. I knew who she was. "Obviously you can join," she said before the other girl. "Thalia, this is Nicolette St. Vincent."

Thalia nodded. "Ah, St. Vincent. You're that Norman kid's little sister."

"And Nick's," Tess added. "Norman _and_ Nick's little sister."

"Whatever." Thalia crossed her arms. "I guess you've got what it takes to join us. Lady Artemis will be back in a day or two. You'll just have to hold out until then."

"Can she stay with us?" Tess asked excitedly.

Thalia laughed. "Yeah, sure, Tess, let me just go ask Chiron about that right now."

"Oh, right." The other girls filed away. Tess looked at me. "Gods, I haven't seen you since you were eleven."

"Yeah, all those years ago," I said.

She smiled. "Wait…you were at the Python battle right?"

"Yeah, but Nick made me stay away from the fight."

"He just doesn't want anyone to get hurt. Except himself." I remembered watching him jump in front of an arrow flying at Tess. He still had a bad scar on his side from that. I knew Tess was remembering the same thing.

"Want to talk to him? I know you guys were friends." I snapped my fingers. "Crap, he's in Florida."

"So he chose the internship?"

"What do you mean chose?"

"I mean…never mind."

Thalia called for her to follow them. I walked out of the cabin. I went into the woods just to take a leisurely walk. I had had quite an interesting day. Three monster attacks total in one day. Inside the camp. I had been worried after the Lamia thing, but now I was really worried. I did not know what was happening with the camp. Were the borders weakening? Was someone letting the monsters in? And none of the monsters were ones that I recognized. The two species were scary, like a ghoul from a nightmare. I almost bumped right into a boy from the Apollo cabin. He was having trouble with his bow.

"Sorry, Josh," I said as I skirted around him.

"No problem," he responded. He grunted. "Crap. Wait, Nicki, can you help me for a second?"

"Yeah, sure."

He handed me his quiver of arrows. He struggled to get the string back on his bow. Once he got one end secured, he started on the other. He finally got it. He flicked it. Apparently it was not to his liking so he had to redo the whole thing. Ten minutes later he was done. He took the quivers back.

"Sorry, that was longer than a second," he said.

"Don't worry, it's fine."

"I heard you've had a fun day today."

"I think the whole camp knows that. I just had another weird encounter with this thing that was so ugly. It was human-esque but had claws and-"

"I heard."

"How?"

"You know how satyrs and dryads gossip."

I laughed. "Yeah, I sure won't miss that."

He put his bow over his shoulder. "Where are you going?"

"Um, everywhere, kind of. I'm joining the Hunt."

"Lucky."

This was a first. "Excuse me?"

He laughed. "I meant I wish they had something like that for guys." We were walking. When had we started walking? "It would be so cool to just spend your life hunting monsters. And you're immortal."

"'Until you die in combat'," I quoted from so many others. "Then all that immortality disappears and you take a permanent vacation in the Underworld."

"I guess." He twirled an arrow in his hands. I have noticed Apollo kids do that when they are bored. Was I boring him? Why would I care if I was? "I've seen you fight. You won't have to worry too much about that."

"About what?" Oh no, what had we been talking about?

"Um, dying in combat."

"Oh, yeah." For a second I feared I would giggle. Why was I even considering that I would giggle?

Josh looked at me with his gold-flecked blue eyes. Why was I noticing the color of his eyes so much? "You seem kind of distracted."

"Um, it's the Capture the Flag game. I don't want us beating them to ruin the chances of me being accepted into the Hunt." That probably would not be the only thing that would ruin my chances of getting into the Hunt. We walked into the break in trees to the river.

"Well, well, well," Shylock said as he jumped down from, what but, a tree. Gods, he so part squirrel, "who do we have here? A future eternal maiden with a boy. I really didn't have you down as the scandalous type, Nicolette."

Josh rolled his eyes. His hand was resting on his bow. At least I was not the only person who wanted to beat Shylock to a pulp whenever he was around. "Get out of here, Shy."

"Why, Joshy? Isn't that what Nicolette here calls you?"

"In about two seconds I'm about to call you Corpsy," I snapped. I put my hand on the hilt of my knife in my sweatshirt pocket.

"Of course you are. Haven't we already gotten our fight in for the day?"

"Maybe we'll get one final one in unless you get away, stalker."

He jogged by us. He spat at my shoes. He has so much respect for people, huh? I turned to Josh. This was so embarrassing. I know my face was flushed. He seemed kind of amused. "Sorry about that. He's kind of a-"

"Jerk," Josh finished. "And so many other things that I don't have enough time to say."

"Yeah, well, I have to go. Dinner will be starting soon."

"It's not for another hour and a-"

"Bye."

I ran off. I ran all the way to the Demeter cabin for the second time that day. I really wish I led a more boring life. I burst inside. Willow was reading again. She looked up at me. Her jaw dropped. "Oh my gods, you like someone!" she exclaimed.

I was a little shocked. "How did you know that?"

"Sweetie, it's an art that has taken me years to perfect," she said. "Now sit."

"No need for me to sit. It's not a huge thing."

"It is to a huge thing."

"Whatever."

"Sit!"

I sat criss-cross apple sauce on the floor. I took a deep breath. This felt weird. "I think I like Josh."

"That narrows it down to the twenty different Joshes that are-Oh my gods from Apollo? That boy is hot!"

"Um, yeah."

"So, how long have you liked him?"

"I don't even know if I like him. I was just talking with him in the woods and-"

"You were nervous? Became self-conscious? Lost your train of thought? Had a little bit of trouble breathing? Felt dizzy? Had sexual urges?"

"Stop reading Teen Vogue and all those other magazines, Willow, please, just stop. They are ruining your mind."

"So I'm right?"

"No. Well, the first few, yeah, but not the last one."

She shrugged. "I'll believe you for now."

I rolled my eyes. "This is serious. What about the Hunt?"

"What about them? You can't exactly join now."

"Yeah, I can."

"And have regrets?"

I stood up definitely. "I won't have any regrets."

"Let me know in twenty years. We'll see if you don't then."

"I won't!"

She put in her ear buds. "Of course you won't."

Gods, I hate it when she knows she is right and I try to say she is wrong but I know she is probably right. It is very degrading for an Athena child. I went back to the Artemis cabin. I passed a Hunter whose name I think was Phoebe. I stopped her. I asked her where Artemis was.

"Lady Artemis is currently on a recruiting trip with a few of our top Hunters," she explained.

"Crap," I muttered.

"What is it?"

"I, uh, wanted to join."

She smiled. "Lady Artemis will be back in two days. She will be more than happy to welcome you into our Hunt. You must come early in the morning, though. We are leaving no later than nine."


	4. Chapter 4

The next two days went by so slow it was almost painful. I hung out with Willow and Aaron as much as possible. Aaron was occupied by his chariot a lot. I felt bad I would not be here for the race. I was here for the Capture the Flag games, though. One was a continuation of the previous game. My team came back to win that. The next game the night after was against the Hunters. They won. One of the idiot Morpheus kids had put the flag within an easy reach for the Hunters. A couple of people ganged up on the kid after but Chiron broke it up before it got too serious. I do not know if anyone else noticed this, but after Chiron broke up the fight he started walking back to the Big House with the son of Morpheus.

Carol jumped on the foot of my bed. I rolled right off the bed. The book I had been reading fell onto the floor. I sat up. My head hurt a little now from the contact with the floor. I crawled back onto the bed. I growled at Carol to go back to sleep. I curled up in the covers. Carol jumped back to her bed with disappointment. I heard her open a book. It was probably the one about sea horse reproduction that I had taken from her.

For a few seconds I was in a half-awake daze. The Hunt! The thought hit me like a bullet. I threw off my covers. I picked my watch up off the bedside table. It was eight fifty seven. I did not even bother to change. I was wearing sweats anyway. I ran to the Artemis cabin. It was empty. I looked across the camp. The Hunters were going up the hill. I started running to catch up with them.

I stopped at the top of the hill. It was too late. They were already out of sight. I kicked the ground angrily. I walked over to Peleus. I petted him. I think he purred. I walked slowly to my cabin. Carol hovered over me as I got some jeans and my camp T-shirt. I went into the bathroom and changed. Carol was right behind me as I walked to the pavilion. She tried to ask me what was wrong. I told her not to worry about it.

After breakfast I went to the Big House. Chiron was nowhere to be seen. I went back to my cabin. I took my backpack out. I put some jeans and shirts in. I tossed in my stash of ambrosia, nectar, drachmas, and cash. I also put my first aid kit in. I slung my quiver over my shoulder sideways with my bow in it. I put my backpack on over it. I tied my knife sheath to my belt loop. I decided to leave my sword and spear. I left the cabin before Eddie woke up.

I started back up the hill. If the Hunters were gone, I was going to track them down. Ever since I was ten I had wanted to be Hunter. I always got this happy feeling in my stomach when I talked about the Hunt or looked over its brochures. There was no way I was missing out on my dream because I overslept. Who cares if I had no idea where I was going? If I really was meant to be in the Hunt, I would find them.

"Where you off to, Nicolette?"

I knew who it was because he is the only person who calls me Nicolette besides some of my family members. I turned to face Shylock with a death glare worthy of Medusa.

"What do you want, Shylock?" I asked.

"I want to know where you're going?" he asked. "Any place of interest?"

"Not to you."

"Sassy."

"Shut up." I started back up the hill.

He ran to catch up with me. "Look, I know where you're going."

"Really, buddy, and where is that?"

"To find the Hunt."

"No," I lied. "That is so not it."

"Yes, it is. Can you stop speed walking for like a second?"

I stopped at the top of the hill. "One Mississippi." I went to move.

Shylock stopped me. "Seriously, wait, I need to talk to you."  
I shrugged off his hand. "What?"

"Ivy joined the Hunt."

"Lucky for her. What's the significance of you telling me this?"

"I think her decision was stupid, much like I think you're decision is stupid. However, I can do more about her decision than yours. When you find the Hunt, can you please tell my sister to send me an Iris-message or come back if she can?"

"Why? It's her life. She can make her own choices."

"You don't get it!" He shouted hysterically. "You have no idea what will happen! Neither does her!"

I held up my hands. "Shy, calm down."

He dragged his fingers through his hair. He started to pace. I was a little bit freaked out. He seemed both scared and fearful, but more the latter. Finally he took a deep breath and stopped. "Can you please just tell her to somehow get in contact with me?"

I paused. I felt really bad for the guy. He had just freaked out for what seemed like no reason. Then again, it was Ivy's life. He should not make choices for her. However, telling her to just talk to her brother was not making a choice for her. It was just showing her that her brother wanted to talk to her. "Fine."

"Thanks."

Willow popped up out of nowhere. Something told me she had taken a few more sips of espresso than usual. She was practically jumping up and down. I braced myself for a million words a minute.

"HeySherlock," she said.

"Shylock," he corrected.

" .HeyNickiwhyareyou

carryingabackpack?" Shylock started walking away. "Whereishegoing?Whoreallycares?

Washeannoyingyouagain?!"

"You never gave me a chance," I said, somehow understanding her. "I am going to find the Hunt so I can join."

"Really?Really?Really?Havetheyalreadyleft? .

."

"You really don't have to. Aaron probably wouldn't want to go."

"I'msurehewould."

"I would really prefer if you could just tell Chiron where I was going."

" ' . 'tbeenoutofhereintwoyears!Letmego!"

"Ireallydon'tthi-" I took a breath. Speed talking is contagious. "I really don't think you should go."

" . !"

She started running down the hill. She tripped at the bottom. She did ninja roll out of it. I plopped to the ground knowing that if I left now willow would track me down and murder me with her gardening shovel. I wondered if she knew there was no espresso in the woods. Probably not. She likes to overlook details like that.

"Hey, Superman," I said when Aaron landed next to me.

He sat down. "Did Willow have too much coffee this morning?"

"Oh yeah."

He rubbed his head. "Ugh, she was talking so fast it gave me a headache. All I got was Nicki, Hunt, help, and pack."

"It takes a while to get used to Willow when she's had caffeine."

"That's why I avoid her until late morning. Before that she's either hyped on coffee or carrying an axe to get rid of anyone in her way."

Willow came running up to us. Her bag was almost overflowing. "Heyareweleavingnow?'

today?Ihaven' .DoyouknowiftheHunterswent

rightorleft? 'tthatinUtah?Whowouldgoto

Utah?-"

"California," I corrected once everything that she had said registered. "Yosemite is in California." I looked at Aaron. "Eh."

"Eh what?" he asked nervously.

"Nothing." I stepped over the magical border of the camp. Peleus blew a ring of smoke as a good-bye. "Looks like we're going to Cali."

"That's on the west coast, right?"

I restrained myself from screaming "Duh!". "Yes, Aaron."

"And we're on the east coast, right?"

Restraint, restraint. "Technically, yes, Aaron."

"So that's waaaay on the other side of the country?"

Restraint! "Yes, Aaron."

"Okay, just checking." He started walking away.

"It'sagoodthinghe'scute," Willow babbled. "

?"

I laughed as we followed Aaron. He seemed to think he was in charge. I would let him think that for now. Willow began rambling. First about flowers, then clothes, then back to flowers, back to clothes, monsters, clothes again, weapons, school supplies, yet again flowers, and currently toys.

"

.Ifoundthemopintlessbecause-" She took a deep breath. "Wow, I'm tired."

"Good, we're here," I announced.

"California?" Aaron asked in shock. "Wow that was quick."

I rolled my eyes. "The bus station, you idiot." I turned him to face across the street. "See?"

"Oh, yeah." He blushed.

We purchase three tickets to California. I went to get us some food from one the little café. I got two bacon burgers for Aaron and me and a veggie burger for Willow. I got us all fries and soda too. I balanced the tray over my head as I pushed through the crowd around the counter. The three of us were eating peacefully when someone rudely interrupted us.

"Get out of my seat," the man growled.

I looked up. He looked like a sixty year old marine. "Your seat?"

"Yeah, my seat. I want to sit there so it's my seat."

"No."

"Nicki," Willow hissed. She gave me a warning look.

"If you wanted the seat you should have gotten here earlier." It was the logical thing to say. "We got here first so it is rightfully ours."

He blinked. His eyes went from brown to all black stone. "When I want something, I get it."

He was enveloped in large black wings. He disappeared. Aaron was frozen mid-bite. Willow looked absolutely freaked out. I knew automatically this recent funny business had to do with the funny business happening at camp. Even if I was basically running away from camp I still cared about it. I got up. Willow and Aaron pulled me back down.

"Where are you going?" Willow demanded.

"To call camp," I said.

"No, we have to stay together."

"I'll use the payphone right there." I pointed at the payphone along the wall.

They let me go. I put the change in the slot. The phone rang three times. Chiron picked up.

"Hey, it's Nicki," I said.

He went on a very long speech about how leaving camp was inappropriate, especially without informing him the proper way, and that bringing Willow and Aaron with me was a bad idea. I explained to him quickly why I left. Halfway through telling him Willow had just had a lot of coffee when she saw me leaving Chiron stopped me to say he understood. I told him about what had just happened. I only had about a minute left.

"That is very curious," Chiron said thoughtfully. "It sounds like Morpheus. I will look into this more."

"Thanks."

"Tell Aaron and Willow to be very careful on their way back to camp."

"Okay. Bye."

I went back to where Willow and Aaron were talking quietly. They stopped when I got there. There was an awkward silence after. That could only mean they had been talking about me. Fantastic. I took an old TIME magazine off the bench next to me. I began to read it. There was still another two hours before I bus came. Willow and Aaron seemed in no rush to speak to me so I would just have to occupy myself in other ways. I side glanced at them. Willow was twisting her bracelet. She only plays with her bracelets when she is hiding something.


	5. Chapter 5

I used Willow's laptop to send my dad an e-mail. I just told him I had left camp for a special reason and would tell him more later. Truthfully I could not think of the right way to tell him I had left camp to go spend the rest of my life as a monster-hunting maiden. I sent Nick and Norman e-mails telling them exactly that. I gave Willow back her laptop. She was still very alert. Coffee sticks with her for a long time. Aaron was snoring. Have you ever seen the Disney Hercules movie? You know when Hercules and Pegasus are snoring in unison? It was that kind of snoring.

"So, what were you and Aaron talking about?" I asked Willow directly. I usually like getting to the point.

"Nothing," she replied. I would have believed her lie if I did not know her so well.

"Didn't seem like nothing. You were being awfully secretive."

"We weren't talking about anything important."

"Then why can't you tell me what it was?"

"Because I forget." She acted like she was embarrassed. "I'll be right back."

She went to the back of the bus to the bathroom. I knew she was just doing that to avoid talking to me. Willow would never use the bathrooms on a bus. I felt like elbowing Aaron in the ribs for talking behind my back with Willow. Instead I crossed my arms and counted to ten. It worked for the most part. Until Aaron twitched in his sleep and kicked my in the shin. I smacked him in the head for that. He jumped up.

"Monster attack!" I think he yelled. It sounded more like, "Muthwerewack!"

"Good morning, sleeping beauty," I greeted.

"Huh?" he asked. His eyes were slits. "Who are-Oh, hey, Nicki." His words were slurred too. I tried to make them out as best as possible. "Where are we?"

"Somewhere in America on a bus."

"Oh…" He yawned. "I should probably try to wake up."

He started to sit up more but lied back down across the two seats. I tapped his shoes. The wings unfolded. They started beating. His feet began rising into the air. He flipped over suddenly. His eyes widened. The shoes obeyed his mental command to stop. He was awake enough now not to be able to fall back asleep again. With any teenager that is possibly the best form of payback you can ever give.

Aaron took a long swig of water when he was sitting up again. He looked around. A little, tiny, practically unseen light bulb went off in his head.

"Where's Willow?" he asked.

"The loo," I responded.

"Oh…why? She hates public bathrooms."

"She's trying to avoid me."

"Why?" He hit his forehead. "Crap, I need to think before I speak."

"I asked her what you and her were talking about when I came back from the phone booth."

"Oh, uh…" He started to play with the zipper on his sweatshirt. "Cars. We were talking about cars."

"Willow doesn't know anything about cars."

"Uh, I said cards."

"Why were you talking about cards?"

He hesitated. His answers were shaky and nervous. "We wanted to get you a going away card for when you join the Hunt."

"Try again."

He scowled. "It's none of your business what we were talking about."

"It is if it's about me."

"Don't flatter yourself." He yanked his bag off the floor. "When you get over yourself let me know."

Aaron went farther up on the bus. Why was he so angry? Okay, I admit it was about conceited of me to say it was my business, but I just wanted to know why they were being so secretive. Aaron and Willow were never like this. We all told each other everything. Why was it suddenly different?

Willow came out of the bathroom a little while later. She looked ready to pass out. She saw Aaron sitting at the front of the bus. She walked over. They talked for a little while. She came back. She sat down across the aisle without a word. I asked her if she wanted the rest of my chips. She ignored me. I sat back in my seat. What was up with them?

The Hunt. That was it. I was joining the Hunt and it was just now settling in that they were helping me. Neither one of them wanted me to join. I knew my Dad was very against it. I had once talked to Chiron about it. For some reason he had seemed pretty against it too. I asked Willow if I could borrow her laptop to check if Nick or Norman had sent a reply. She gave me the laptop silently. Both Nick and Norman had replied.

Nick's reply was:

**Hey Nicolette,**

** Are you really going to join the Hunt? I know when you were**

** younger you wanted to, but I thought you were over that. I have**

** nothing against the Hunt. Actually, I do, but I will not get into it. **

** Anyway, I just wanted to put my opinion in. I would advise against this**

** choice. I do not think the Hunt is the right path for you.**

** -Nick**

Norman's reply was:

**Hey Nicolette,**

** Are you freaking out of your mind? You have a lot of **

** potential for your future! You could probably become the best **

** lawyer in America! Don't join the Hunt. It's not you. I mean, you can**

** kick butt, however, I think you should not just run off and join. You **

** would make an awesome Hunter but it just does not seem like you.**

** -Norman**

** P.S. Never date a guy named Logan or I will place you in the Hunt**

** myself.**

That was just so helpful. I gave Willow back her laptop. Have you ever traveled from around Ohio to California on a bus in dead silence? I would suggest you never do it. You almost die of boredom. The hours just drag by endlessly. I walked right by Aaron and Willow when we finally got to California. They had two choices: follow me or stay at the station and take the next bus to New York. I did not look back. When I got outside of the station I was still all alone.

I hailed a cab. I told the driver to go to Yosemite National Park. "Do you know how much that would cost?" he asked. I handed him almost all the rest of my cash. He shut up. At Yosemite I made camp in a small clearing. I managed to start a fire on the second try. I ate a granola bar for dinner. I heard a twig snap.

"Ugh, I hate camping," Willow complained when she walked into the clearing. She plopped down next to the fire.

I looked up at her. "Why are you guys here?"

"We decided if you were going to join the Hunt you should do it alive rather than dead."

"Lovely." I looked at Aaron. "Do you think I'm over myself yet?"

"Sorry," he said quietly. "I, uh, kind of overreacted."

"Kind of? You didn't talk to me for almost a thousand miles."

"I know. Sorry again."

"Apology accepted, I suppose. I guess I'll just shove this little episode to the back of my mind."

"Good," Willow said. She looked at the fire. "Did you have matches with you?"

"Yeah, but not that many."

"I guess I'll have to savor this fire then. Did anyone bring a tent?"

Cricket, cricket.

She sighed. "Aaron, come with me. We'll go buy a tent from the closest store we can find. Nicki, watch camp."

"Watching it."

They came back two hours later with a tent. Aaron took first watch. Willow fell asleep faster than you think considering how much caffeine she had ingested. I, on the other hand, could not fall asleep at all. I heard something outside. I unzipped the tent flap. Aaron was gone. Do not tell me he had fallen asleep and begun sleepwalking. I slid my knife up my arm. I began looking for him.

I squinted into the dark trees as I walked at a twenty foot perimeter around the camp. I saw something glowing about ten feet to my left. I walked carefully through the trees. I stepped on a twig by accident. I froze. Nothing happened. I stepped behind a tree and looked out.

Aaron was talking to someone in an Iris-message. He was facing me but could not see me. I could see the back of the Iris-message. It was hard to see who the person was. Who could Aaron be talking to?

"I'll tell her," Aaron said. He did not sound too thrilled about whatever he was talking about.

"You don't get it!" the person yelled. "She'll kill me if she finds out from anyone but Ivy! It's her only daughter. Ivy's the only one she cares about." It was Shylock.

"I don't see what the big deal is. I mean, I know she wants you to look out for Ivy and stuff but-"

"Ivy leaves camp at all and she's in danger. If she's the one to tell her, she won't kill me."

"Dude, she's not going to kill you."

"Do you remember what happened last December? With Ivy?"

"She ran away from camp and you went to find her."

"And?"

Aaron paused. "You got hit by a car."

"It wasn't a car. She did that."

Aaron's jaw dangled open. "You were in critical for two weeks."

"That's what happens when the prize pig escapes. The farmer kills one of the weaker ones just to get his anger out." There was a very long silence. "Just tell Ivy to contact me as soon as you see her."

The Iris-message disappeared. Aaron was gripping his sword so hard his knuckles were pure white. I was still trying to process what I just heard. I remembered hearing about Shylock being in the hospital last December. They thought he would not make it. Somehow he pulled through. Everyone said it he had been hit by a car. It was the day after his sister got back to camp. She said she had had her mother's help. Her mother. Enyo. The goddess of bloodshed and war. Leave it to her to only have enough love for one child.

I stepped out from behind the tree. Aaron looked up at me. In the moonlight I just barely saw the scar along his jaw from an encounter with a telekhine. He said nothing. I tried to thinking of something to say. Nothing came to me.

"He told me to tell Ivy the same thing," I said finally.

"He probably told Willow too," he said. "He knows one of the three of us will. It's not trust. It's probability."

You know something is serious when Aaron refers to math in any way, shape, or form. "When you guys were growing up, was he in the hospital a lot?"

"I only remember two or three times. It as always because he fell down the stairs or crashed his bike or something. And it was always right after Ivy would try to run away. She liked to see how far she could go before Shy found her." He stared at the ground. "She didn't know. I didn't know. No one knew."

"I'll take over watch."

He walked away. I stood there a few more seconds before leaving. I sat in front of the dying fire. Dying. Like Shylock had been in the hospital. Because of his own mom. I looked up at the stars. The Hunter stuck out more than the others tonight. I stared at it. It was my favorite constellation for obvious reasons. I lied down on the ground. I saw a shooting star. Wait…that was not a star. It was something flying. It flew about as fast as a falling star. It almost completely blended with the sky because it was all black. My stomach clenched. What had that thing been?


End file.
